Family Code Section 7611 is my favorite code section because it rewards parents, not biological parents, but moms and dads who are there for the child. Under this code section if a person holds the child out as his or her own, and this child knows that individual as his/her parent, then that parent is considered…

The modern day family comes in wonderful varieties. Same sex couples have children, sometimes two men will have a gestational surrogate or a non-gestational surrogate; two women will start a family and in some situations a woman will have an adulterous affair and bring another child into the home with the non-biological father. With all of these varieties,…

Whenever I hear of the family law rule ” a gift of substantial value must be made in writing” I always think of a romantic moment when a husband surprises his wife with an expensive tennis bracelet of brilliant diamonds and in that moment Family Code Section 852 requires a subsequent written note expressing his intent to divest all community…

Are you a victim of the Ashley Madison hack? Ashley Madison is an online dating site meant for individuals in marriages who are looking to have a secretive affair. The release of all names of Ashley Madison members has now placed millions in a position contemplating a divorce. Here is some advice for those victims…

Meet and Confer is a good faith discussion amongst parties and counsel to resolve an issue prior to being heard in court over the matter. Meet and Confer is a very important legal concept. A lot of times, it is important to have an attorney on the other side, and a good attorney is even…

What are Jeffries Credits? Jeffries Credits, in short, is reimbursement for the mortgage payment on a home the other spouse has sole possession of after separation. A case called In Re Marriage of Jeffries held that payments made on a mortgage by the spouse who does not have exclusive possession of the home is entitled…

A common issue that occurs at times of divorce is when a party has sole possession over a community property bank account. In this case, there are at times a concern that party will deplete the account which would prejudice the other spouse as there would be no more money left to distribute the community…

Epstein Credits: Epstein credits are when post separation a spouse pays for community property debt and is entitled to reimbursements. For example, if you are paying for credit card debt that the community incurred you are entitled to receive half in reimbursements of those payments because it is a community obligation. Your separate property funds…

I was tempted to write this post because of so many initial consultations I have with divorce clients where one party says “yeah, but I just want to give all of x,y and z because ” I don’t want to fight”” Usually all of which they want to give is grossly disproportionate to what the other side…

Family Code Section 2104 provides that all parties must exchange the preliminary declaration of disclosures. This includes the Fl-150 which is the Income and Expense Declaration, the Schedule of Assets and Debts which lists absolutely all asset and debts that you collectively possess or own with the other spouse. Even if you know of the…